Nuclear generation to double to meet goals

The World Energy Outlook 2017 report, recently published by the International Energy Agency, foresees a substantially expanded role for nuclear energy if the world is to meet the challenges of people’s development needs, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. According to Agneta Rising, the director general of World Nuclear Association, nuclear will have an important role supplying clean, reliable electricity continuously. The report examines what it would take to achieve the main energy-related components of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” adopted in 2015 by member states of the United Nations. In the Sustainable Development Scenario nuclear generation more than doubles from 2476 TWh in 2016 to 5345 TWh in 2040. Electricity demand increases from 24,765 TWh in 2016 to 35,981 TWh in 2040, with nuclear energy supplying 15% of that demand. The global nuclear industry wants to supply 25% of the world’s electricity demand by 2050, which would require a tripling of nuclear generation from its current level.